


Saving the Hero

by SkyWriter



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-03-10 04:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3275897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWriter/pseuds/SkyWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sticks and stones may break bones, but how much do words actually hurt you? After a fight with Elsword, Aisha runs off and trouble arises. How far will their stubbornness go before someone gets hurt?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fight or Flight

**Author's Note:**

> Job classes: Elsword-Rune Slayer, Aisha-Elemental Master, Rena-Grand Archer, Raven-Blade Master, Eve-Code Empress, Chung-Iron Paladin, Ara-Sakra Devanam
> 
> This is my first fanfic by the way, so any constructive criticism is greatly appreciate it! Early apologies for any grammar, 2am edits suck.

Elsword looked up, wincing as he tried to shake off the pain. He made an effort to stand, only to fall to his knees again; cursing El, he could only watch as the love of his life faced her opponent in his place. Maybe he shouldn't have run off to save her on his own, maybe he should've trusted his friends more, maybe he shouldn't have been so mean in the first place, but it didn't matter now. Now, he couldn't even stand, much less fight, and with every ounce of strength gone, he could only watch the battle unfold.

Her amethyst eyes drifted back, locking on his defeated crimson ones. With a small, reassuring smile, she raised her staff, shook her bangs out of her eyes, and spoke.

"You can't always be the hero, you know. Don't be an arrogant idiot who thinks he's the only one who can save people. Because this time, I'll do it. I'll save you." It was a promise, a desperate but determined promise, and it took everything the boy had to believe it. To believe in  _her_.

"It's okay," she continued, "I can do it, I'll definitely win. I have you behind me, after all." With that, she turned, her gaze sharpening into a glare, and a deadly lavender aura enveloped her. The boy watched as she took a deep breath and teleported to her doom.

He was such a fucking idiot, she had no idea.

* * *

Today was supposed to be a good day. It was Elsword's birthday and everyone was having the best of times preparing for the party that night. Oberon and Ophelia were fighting over which decorations to put up, with Eve throwing kicks at the two because it was just  _not perfect_ ; Chung was showing Ara how to blow up balloons with helium, and having a bit more fun with the helium than was necessary; Rena was trying (and failing) at baking a cake and Raven was fidgeting in the corner of the kitchen-who knew Rena would get so defensive when he tried to help her bake?

Elsword woke up to the commotion in their quaint Velder townhouse wondering what had gotten into the gang, being so noisy so early in the morning. A soft knock at his bedroom door gave him the motivation to get up and get dressed. He pulled on his famous crop top and slacks before opening the door to his favorite purple-haired Mage.

 _Damn, she looks cute_. It was a hot, summer day and Aisha held her coat in her hands; her sleeveless turtleneck exposed her shoulders and her bangs were pinned back with the gold ribbon hairpin Elsword had given her a while ago.

With a secret smile, the red-haired boy teased, "What's up, Shorty?"

"Oi, shaddup!" his remark was met with a spell book to the head and the Mage scowled, "I'm not short," she defended, "just fun-sized."

He laughed, making her scowl deeper. This early morning banter was normal for the two, enjoyable even.

"No, really, why'd you come all the way up to my room? We all know how much you hate the stairs."

"I swear to Holy El, I will go _return_  your birthday present, you idiot," Aisha glared.

"My birthday present?"

"Don't tell me you forgot?" asked the girl, incredulous. "I knew you were an idiot, but you can't honestly be that dumb."

Elsword paused before the realization hit: She was right, today he turned 17.

"You forgot."

"Hey, cut me some slack! We've barely had enough time to relax after saving Hamel, unless you think I'm so selfish that I would think about my birthday before the reconstruction of the town?"

"Would it be insulting to you if I said I did?"

"Don't make me kiss you."

The girl flushed, fidgeting in the doorway, "You know what? Screw you!" and she turned to storm away.

In a flurry of red, Elsword caught her arm and pulled her back, "So, what'd ya get me?" His crimson eyes were ablaze with the smile that played on his lips.

"Maybe I don't want to give it to you now," she sulked, purple pigtails flying as she turned her head.

"Aww, come on, Aisha," Elsword pleaded, "please?" He gave her his best puppy dog face, and waited for her response.

Peeking up at him with one eye, the Mage sighed, "Would you stop with that face? It's making me want to punch you."

"Somehow, I don't believe you."

"Oh, you better," she warned, before shuffling in her coat pockets with her free hand. "Here," and she handed him a small box, no bigger than one of her spell books.

"If this is a book, I will dump you right here and now."

"Lady El, I'm not that mean," she rolled her eyes. "Just open it."

He let go of her arm to open the box, pulling the purple ribbon off slowly, savoring the moment.

"Since when were you the patient one?" she frowned, noting his deliberate movements.

"Since when were you an impatient grape head? Oh wait, that's always," the red-haired boy countered with a smirk.

Before she could do much more than glare, he opened to box to reveal a picture. A picture of her, set in an engraved wooden frame that read "More than family". A genuine smile crept onto the boy's face, and he looked down to thank the girl.

"I know it's not much and you probably don't like it, but I thought it was a good idea," she said, averting her gaze. "Actually, Rena was the one who suggested it, but I did the engraving myself. It's okay if you think it's a waste, I mean, the picture isn't even that good and-"

He cut her off with a tight hug, holding her close enough to let her feel the smile on his lips. "Thanks, Aisha. It means a lot."

Blushing, the purple-haired girl smiled, "It means a lot to me too…" Aisha added softly, "Just in case your sister never comes back, you'll always have me. You'll always have us."

The atmosphere dimmed with the boy's frown at the mention of his sister. She was out there somewhere and he knew it, he knew she'd come back. Because she wouldn't just leave him alone in the world, right? He'd vowed he would become strong enough to protect the ones he loved and in return, she'd promised him she'd see him when that time came, when the time came that he caught up to her.

The one thing that annoyed him more than his girlfriend beating him at something was someone mentioning his sister.

"Always back to her, huh.." he muttered with a bitter sigh.

"Ah, Els, I-" Aisha stumbled to fix her mistake. This was his birthday, she was supposed to be making him happy, not reminding him of the past. "Ahh, I suppose I should go make sure Rena doesn't burn the house down…" her excuse hung in the empty air, cut to pieces by Elsword's steely look.

"If there's anything I don't want to deal with today, it's your jealousy of my sister. So, if that's all you care about, then don't bother caring about me. Happy 17th birthday, Elsword, you can leave me alone, Aisha," and he pushed passed her, shoving the picture into his pocket.

Frozen in his doorway, Aisha was left in a suffocating silence, as her boyfriend's angry words sunk in. Slumping to the ground, she buried her head in her hands, trying to fight off the tears that were threatened to spill over.  _I'm terrible, I've no freaking right to call myself his girlfriend._

* * *

 She tried to apologize, she really did. But every time Aisha would approach him, Elsword would spare the girl one glance before blowing her off and ignoring her. When she went up to him and Chung as they headed into town for more cake ingredients (Rena had ruined the cake for the third time), he simply turned away and started a conversation with his blonde friend. When she offered him her handkerchief after Oberon and Ophelia had a fight over who got to make the punch-which ultimately ended in a big mess-he shrugged her off without a word.

The tension in the air grew to such a level that everyone in the house became uneasy, wary of the couple's fight. Rena constantly shot worried glances between Elsword and Aisha, not knowing what to do or who to talk to first. Chung quietly polished his canon in a corner, Ara nervously fidgeted with her hairpin, and Eve became more violent to her servants, handing out punishments left and right.

Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Aisha gathered her courage and walked up to the red-haired boy. Hesitantly, she started, "Hey, Els…"

"Do you need something?" he interjected, crimson orbs devoid of emotion.

"Um, well, I just wanted to apologize. I was really selfish to say that, so-"

"So you need me to repeat myself?"

"Huh?" confusion laced the girl's amethyst eyes.

"I told you to leave me alone, you jealous witch. We're done."

Eyes widened in surprise and hurt, Aisha could only stare as Elsword stormed off to his room. Blinking back tears, she too, ran to her room. Slamming her door, the purple-haired girl curled up on her bed and buried her face in a pink pillow. Ignoring Rena's persistent knocking, Aisha's tears soon grew angry. Ripping the golden hairpin out, she threw it to the floor and grabbed her coat. It might have been sultry out, but Elsword's words made her shiver.

"Aisha? Will you please open the door? Come on, let's talk this out," the elf pleaded.

Instead, Aisha turned and strode to her open window. Grabbing her staff, she leapt out and blindly ran as tears streamed down her face. Her magic running amiss, the sunny day turned cloudy, and a storm that epitomized her churning feelings grew with every step she took. By the time Rena peaked into her room, Aisha was halfway out of Velder and it had begun to rain.

* * *

  _A mage ran, trying to escape her feelings and the town that housed her now-ex-boyfriend._

_A chair was kicked, a curse hissed, and a red-haired boy sat on the edge of his bed, wondering why he'd exploded on the annoying girl that had stolen his heart long ago._

_And a sinister smile crept onto the face of a watchful shadow. **How convenient,**  they laughed.  **Just you wait, Master...**_


	2. Forgiveness or Regret

Aisha’s POV  
Stopping, Aisha leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She continued to stand by the idea that “exercise was for squares and books were better,” but damn, she shouldn’t be this out of shape.

“I bet the last time I ran this hard was when I had to go back behind Velder’s gates and pull a certain idiot out of the way of a crashing tower...” she mused aloud, the memory and it’s relation to him making her eyebrow twitch.

Her tears had long since dried and her composure hardened, but it still stung to remember their last argument. Did he really mean all that? Maybe she seemed a little jealous, but there wasn’t much for her to be jealous of, having never met his sister nor knowing much of her anyways. She’d just wanted to give him something meaningful for his birthday to show how much he meant to her.

“I just wanted to tell you I love you, Els,” she murmured into the mist.

She was determined not to cry, but at this rate, her future wasn’t very promising. To re-occupy herself, she glanced around, trying to figure out how far she’d run. Aisha stood in the wake of a terribly foggy forest, the town of Velder behind her, and a shiver ran down her back. Indecisive, she wandered the outskirts of the forest, wondering if she should hide out here until tomorrow or go back.

“No. I’m not going back to that rude idiot! He can go screw a phoru for all I care!”

Her spoken thought was an effort to distract herself from the growing darkness as day turned into night. Fumbling with her staff, Aisha summoned a little ring of fire around her, three balls of flame that washed her in an aura of light. She had to admit, this forest was creepy-with-a-capital-K material—the trees were all bent and disfigured, the floor a mess of overgrown weeds and tree roots. Aisha jumped at every sound, This is all his fault! That stupid idiot!

She took a shaky breath, her fire and equanimity wavering; he didn’t have to be so mean, she was ready to accept her mistake and move on, but he’d flat out turned her down with not so much as a smirk. As lost in thought as she was, it’s no wonder she’d eventually trip, since Aisha was far from the most graceful mage in existence.

A tree root sent her sprawling, resulting in a scrapped knee and hands, and mud on her favorite white coat. Her spell book and staff went flying and she cursed, wiping mud from her clothes and wounds. Tears welled up against her will as her circle of fire sputtered out, leaving her in a darkness only illuminated by the moon overhead. Sniffling, Aisha groped around for her spell book, when suddenly a foot came down upon her outstretched hand.

“Well, well, well... What’s a cute little girl like you doing out here, huh? Crying over spilled milk again?” a voice leered, grinding their foot on the girl’s hand.

“Chloe,” she hissed, glaring up at the dark elf. “What do you want?”

“Oh, dearest, must you assume I always want something of you?” she mocked. “Oh no, I don’t want anything from you, darling Aisha. I just want you.”

In an instant, Chloe had grabbed a pigtail and drug the mage to her feet, eliciting a yelp of pain from the girl. The elf had her staff and spell book and she flipped to a page, reading off a spell. Soon enough, two of her minions had appeared and taken hold of the purple-haired girl.

“W-what do you think you’re doing!?” Aisha yelled, struggling against her captors.

“I’m just going to borrow you for a bit,” the dark elf purred and kneed her prisoner hard in the stomach.

The mage choked as air and light were forced out of her. Elsword, she thought, damn it, if it wasn’t for him... and into darkness she fell.

 

Elsword’s POV

“Alright, I get it! Enough already!” he cried, spinning to face his visitor. “Rena was already in here yelling about my stupidity and selfishness, and if that’s all you want, save your breath!”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “You sound like you don’t feel bad at all.”

“So what if I don’t? What are you gonna do, lecture me?” the Rune Slayer challenged. He was already pissed off enough, he didn’t need more provocation.

It happened in a flash—a flash of dark hair and shining silver—and the red-haired boy flew out his open window, landing face-first in the dusty road. The sun beat down on him, and Elsword squinted up in anger, a swear and a shout already rising in his throat.

“Raven, what the fu--!”

He was cut off as the Blade Master sliced his sword to the others throat, it’s dangerous blade steaming in the heat.

“In all our adventures, I never would have taken you as someone who would run away from a fight,” Raven said, his gold eyes deadly serious. “But you really are a coward.”

“What did you say!?” the boy growled, his anger summoning a few stray fire runes.

“I said you’re a coward,” Raven spat, unfazed, “you’ve no right to call yourself a swordsman, or, hell, a man in general.”

“Tch! Don’t scold me like I’m a kid. You don’t know anything!”

“Maybe so, but I do know you, Elsword,” he said, pressing the edge of his sword harshly against his friend’s throat, drawing a bead of scarlet blood. “The Elsword I know,” Raven continued, “wouldn’t draw out a fight over a petty thing like jealousy. Besides, El knows, you’re the one who’s actually jealous.”

The bitter truth of his words shut the boy up. Elsword could find no words to defend himself against his pitiful situation. It was true, it had been an ignorantly stupid fight, but what could he do now? Aisha wouldn’t forgive him that easily.

A crowd had gathered at the sound of their heated argument, and was soon broken apart by a breathless, obviously distressed Rena.

“What’s going on out here?” the elf demanded, running up to the two.

“Just knocking some sense into the kid,” the Blade Master sighed and withdrew his sword. “Why? What’s got you in a hurry?”

“It’s Aisha. She’s gone.”

“What?” Elsword snapped his head up at her exclamation.

“I—her window was open and her coat and staff are gone. I’ve looked everywhere but there’s no sign of her...” Tears welled up in Rena’s eyes and she directed her gaze to the boy on the ground, “This is all your fault! Who knows where she went or if she’s even coming back!” Her blonde hair sailed as she turned and ran back to notify the others.

“Tch. I don’t know if it’s even worth asking you to help look for her. You might have once loved her more than us, but now, I can’t really say,” Raven said warily and followed his girlfriend into the house, leaving Elsword alone in the sweltering heat.

“Damn it!” the red-haired boy punched the ground, sending a cloud of dust flying. “You’re wrong...all of you! I-I do love her... I’ve only loved her...” he whispered. For the first time in years, tears pulled at the corners of his eyes, daring him to lose his composure. But what did composure matter in this situation? Hell, what did love matter when his girlfriend had turned up missing, without a word to anyone, and he was the only one to blame?

Rena had said Aisha was gone and they were going to look for her, but who knew the lost mage better than he? He was the one who knew she actually hated cake, despite her obsession with sweets; he knew she liked the stars better than a sunset and that she couldn’t stay angry when he smiled. Elsword was the one who knew how self-conscious and insecure the girl actually was, how much she worried over little things; he knew that because of how impulsive and stubborn she was, Aisha would be hard to find, no matter who searched for her.

Letting out an anguished cry, the boy tore at his hair. He should have just sucked it up and apologized in the first place, not let this get so out of hand. He should have known that she didn’t mean it like that, and Holy Lady El, he should have known himself better. Raven was right, he was the only jealous one here. He was jealous that Aisha seemed to worry more over whether his sister was coming back than he. Pounding the ground in frustration, the boy realized that, no matter if his sister returned, he had his friends beside him; he had Aisha.

Emphasis on the “had,” he mulled over darkly. With an exasperated sigh, Elsword picked himself off the ground and trudged back into the house. He wasn’t getting anywhere with these thoughts, and wouldn’t if he didn’t let off the steam that had built up from the day’s events.

It was ironic how, even though it was his birthday, everyone was worried about someone else—including himself. As he plodded up the steps to his room, an acrimonious smile crossed his face. Sis would totally beat me up for this, he thought, she would drag me by my ear and throw me in front of her and make me apologize, first thing... Aisha... Where did you go?

Retrieving his sword, the Rune Slayer headed out back to practice his swordsmanship, mind full of worry. Wondering what in all of Lurensia he could do to make it up to his love and his friends, he spun and unleashed an attack on an unsuspecting foe. When his Flaming Fist was parried with a knife, Elsword skid back in surprise, confusion written all over his face.

“Hmph, and here I was going to be nice and give you a hint at where your girlfriend was...” the dark elf muttered. Instead, she shrugged, “Guess not~ too bad Ran’ll have to wait...” And with that, Chloe disappeared into the shadows, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh cliffhangers~ How lovely thou art! R&R please!


	3. Cowardice vs Fire

Aisha's POV

"Chloe! Come out, you damn elf!" the girl shook at the bars surrounding her.

Frustrated, she punched the side of the cage that constricted her, "Ow! Damn it!" Aisha slumped to the floor, clutching her hand, "What's with this?" she cried helplessly, glancing around and pulling her knees to her chest. The Elemental Master felt so powerless—and she was—because the cage she'd woken up in was littered with magic seals.

Her staff and spell book were completely useless even though they had long-since been returned, for she could do nothing about her situation. With no mana and no way to use magic, Aisha curled up against her cold metal prison as hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Honestly, I don't know what that fire-obsessed kid sees in you, all you do is cry. So much for the 'all-powerful Mage' that rumors tell of," Chloe smirked as she entered the room. "But don't worry, darling, your stupid friends will be here soon, and when they do, my master has the grandest of plans for them," the elf let out a peal of high-pitched laughter before a shadow passed over her face and she ducked her head into a bow as Ran strode in.

"Hn, what a pleasure it is seeing you again, Aisha," he crooned, his magenta eyes glinting with sarcasm.

"Ran?" the girl jumped up, clutching the bars with a new-found energy. "I-I thought we..."

"Oh dear, you didn't think I could be taken down so easily, did you?"

"But we...we..." Aisha fell to her knees at the flick of Ran's finger. Struggling under his overwhelming aura of power, her eyes widened in fear at his murderous glare. He'd gotten more powerful since the last time they faced him, she could feel it.

"You won't talk, wench," he sneered in disgust, "you're absolutely useless to me, but Chloe, here, insisted the others would follow if she stole you." He walked over to the front of the cage, leaning in and giving the purple-haired girl a malicious smile, "The only one I'm interested in is the boy, the boy with whom you are particularly close too," he hissed before his eyes hardened and he turned, silver hair flying.

With a wave of his hand, he silenced the girl and strode out.

Chloe giggled, dancing over to where Aisha grasped at her throat, lips moving up and down yet no sound being produced.

"Ohhh~ can't cry now, can you?" the dark elf pealed. "Poor baby, maybe your boyfriend will be here soon to save you, that is, if he can make it past us first. But don't worry, dearest, if he even gets close, I'll let you have a front row seat to his death. I'll make sure the last thing he sees is his crying girlfriend." She smiled sweetly at Aisha before continuing with a glance at one of the numerous computers in the room, "Speak of the devil, I suppose they're here..."

The Mage jerked her head up at the exclamation, questions written all over her face. Although she couldn't call out to them, she could see them as clear as day on the screen, and it was a sight that made her stomach plummet.

 

Elsword's POV

"W-what?" Dumbfounded, Elsword stared at the shadow where Chloe had come and gone. Her words rang through his mind: She knew where Aisha was and somehow, Ran was involved. But where? And why? The Elgang had already drove the dark army out of Velder and had been working their way through Hamel ever since (although now they were focusing on helping rebuild Velder now that everything had been cleaned up). If Ran was hiding anywhere, he'd be somewhere in the Halls of Water again or maybe even hiding out in the Temple of Trials. He had escaped the first time they battled him, but maybe there was something else this time; maybe Ran needed Aisha for something.

No, that didn't make sense. Aisha was an extremely skilled magician, being an Elemental Master and all, but Ran's army had hundreds of mages. Why would he need another, much less Aisha?

Unless he was trying to provoke them, which was probable; this could be a trap to draw them apart and drag them into the Halls of Water to pick them off one by one. But it was strange, the whole Elgang has already defeated Ran once and they were definitely stronger than they had been at that time, so who's to think they couldn't defeat him again?

"Agh!" Elsword pulled at his hair in frustration. Strategy was never his strong point, that was usually Rena or Raven's job.

"But I can't just walk back in there with no plan and expect them to believe me," he looked at their townhouse longingly. "Even of I tell them what Chloe said, I'm not sure they'll believe me. I am the one the blame in the first place."

And what were they going to do to her, in the meantime? Every minute wasted thinking and planning was a minute that Aisha could need. But what could Elsword do? Could he really go save her on his own?

"What am I doing doubting myself?" the red-haired boy mumbled, "aren't I the 'useless, irritating, self-absorbed idiot' as Aisha always preached? Where's all that confidence now?"

But even as the boy strode with purpose back into the townhouse, he couldn't help but be distracted by his flaws. He marched right past his friends as they stood around the table discussing, drawing confused looks at his sudden return, and headed up to his room, all the while not feeling near as confident as he looked.

Tossing his sword on the floor, he flopped face-first onto his bed and buried his head in a pillow. With a loud sigh, Elsword rolled over, staring at the magic lanterns that floated around his room. Made of dark metal twisted into cute designs, they were lit with a dancing fire rune. The sight of them made Elsword huff as he remembered the day they enchanted them...

_"No, you're doing it all wrong!" the girl yelled, whacking the boy with her staff._

_"Ow! Hey, what the hell was that for, Aisha?" he complained and rubbed his head._

_"That was for ruining my perfect lantern!" She cried, annoyed._

_"Um, if by that you mean fixed your stupid lantern, then I am not apologizing." Elsword nodded at the one he'd been working on, which was, in comparison, much less cute and held a blazing rune instead of a fireball._

_"No, you definitely ruined it," the Mage glared. "It looked perfectly fine until you came and messed it up," she huffed and turned her head._

_"There's no way in all seven hells I am hanging lanterns like yours in my room."_

_"What!?"_

_"Too ugly," the Rune Slayer smirked, "just like their creator."_

_"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?"_

_"I'm simply stating the truth, Grape Head," the boy laughed, fully amused with her reaction._

_"We both agreed that because your room had no lights we'd make them ourselves, and if you don't want my help, don't ask in the first place!" Aisha shouted, her voice growing gradually louder until the neighbors could probably hear her._

_"Hey, I wasn't the one who asked for a loud Grape Head to invade my personal space and force cute bat lanterns into my hands, that was Rena," he defended. "But I wouldn't expect any more from a cutting board shorty like you, so I guess I'll deal with it..." Elsword trailed off, counting the seconds until his words clicked and she exploded._

_One... Two... Thr-_

_"WAS THAT A FLAT-CHESTED JOKE BECAUSE I SWEAR TO LADY EL I WILL STRANGLE YOU, LIGHT YOUR STUPID CHERRY HEAD ABLAZE, AND USE YOU AS A LANTERN IN MY ROOM, YOU USELESS, IRRITATING, SELF-ABSORBED IDIOT!"_

_Maybe it was how high her screech got towards the end of her spiel, maybe it was how all her enchanted lanterns rose up behind her like Eve's drones, or maybe it was simply the look on her face that did it. Or, perhaps it was a combination of all three._

_Elsword tipped his chair over, falling to the floor with a loud CRASH!, roaring with laughter. He couldn't help himself, she was just so vulnerable and tease-worthy that he could never pass up an opportunity to make her mad. The way her face flushed and how she blinked away angry tears made her an extremely cute sight, even if she was chasing the red-head around with homing fireballs or something. Hitting him, throwing stray books at him, kicking him in the shins, even her yelling...Elsword had gotten used to all of it and looking back, he realized he even enjoyed their little quarrels._

_Holding his aching stomach, the redhead looked up at his girlfriend, fuming and flustered, and had to offer a genuine smile in her direction._

_Completely taken aback by his smile—a true smile, not his usual teasing smirk—Aisha blinked, all anger forgotten by her boyfriend's sudden change. Now, he wasn't laughing at or because of her, he was laughing at them and their foolishness._

_"W-what's that look for?" the Mage stammered, her blush deepening to match the boy's hair color._

_Grinning, Elsword rose to his full height, he'd gained a whole 3 inches on Aisha this last year, and pulled her into a tight hug._

_She stiffened, dazed, but gradually let herself melt into the others embrace._

_"You know, there's something about you that gets me every time..." he murmured into her hair, making her shiver. "I can't seem to place what it is, but it keeps reminding me of something," he pulled back to look into the amethyst eyes that he cherished so much._

_Egged on by his unwavering gaze, the Elemental Master inquired ina small voice, "And w-what's th-that?"_

_Leaning down, the Elsword brushed his lips against hers and whispered, "I love you, Aisha."_

_After that, the two decided to compromise: Keep the bat lanterns, add fire runes. Together they enchanted them, floating them just below the ceiling._

_"No regrets," the couple agreed, lacing their hands together._

Stretching an arm out, Elsword shielded himself from the warm light of one of the lanterns, staring at the back of his hand.

"No regrets, huh?" he reminisced to himself, closing his hand into a fist and letting it fall to his bed. Rolling onto his side, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the little picture frame. Its engraved words sparkled in the light of his room, dancing like fire.

He had to save her, he knew that, but could he do it by himself? He'd be facing Ran and Chloe and who knows what else; it could be one against one thousand for all he knew, but could he do it?

Mind racing, the red-haired boy stared into the snapshot girl's smiling amethyst eyes until he could see no more.

When Rena came up before they left, later that night, having also been tipped off by Chloe, she found an exhausted boy clutching a photograph like it was a life line. Gently pulling the picture frame from his grasp, she set it on his desk and pulled a blanket over him.

"Sleep well, Elsword. We'll find her."

Aisha's POV

Her friends had come indeed: Rena, Raven, Ara, Chung, and Eve, but a certain red-haired idiot was nowhere to be found.

With a fake gasp, Chloe's mouth formed a mocking little "o", "Awww looks like Elboy didn't make it after all... He did seem a little upset when I visited him, much more so than when I talked to the rest of your friends."

Aisha's eyes widened in shock, Chloe had gone to see them? Soon enough, the dark elf decided to go join the "party," promising Aisha that she'd put her friends through hell just for her, and if Elsword showed up, she'd make sure he paid for upsetting his girlfriend.

She said he'd been really upset, even more than the rest of them and Aisha had seen Rena get worried before and that would be pretty hard to beat. But if Chloe was telling the truth and Elsword was blaming himself, where was that idiot? He would never pass up the opportunity to fight and if Aisha was in trouble he'd be the one to recklessly come alone...right? He's the one who rage-mode swings is stupid sword around all the time, right?

He wouldn't just leave me here right?

Elsword was always the one who wanted to be the hero, he wanted the credit, he wanted to be the knight in shining armor; he wanted to save the princess. But Aisha was here now, selfishly captured, and where was he? Had he finally gotten tired of playing the hero? Did his doubts finally catch up to him? Aisha always knew how hard he was on himself, she knew he hid behind his loud confidence because he was actually truly afraid of losing something important, someone important. He thought that if he was always the hero, he could ensure the safety of those he treasured, that he could always save everyone.

But she believed in him, she'd always believed in him, and had constantly tried to let him know that. Worry clouded her vision as the Mage got lost in her thoughts, the battle that engulfed her friends was silent and far away from her. A wave of helplessness settled over the girl; she wanted so desperately to help them and to make Elsword believe she meant her apology. She wanted to see his smile again, wanted him to tease her and ruffle her hair like he always did, but mostly, she just wanted to know he was okay.

_I believe in you Els, so where are you? Are you just going to abandon your friends? Are you just going to abandon me?_

A single tear slipped out, leaving a trail as it rolled down the Elemental Master's cheek, leaving her to watch the fight continue.


	4. Spells and Redemption

Aisha's POV

"No. Tears don't help anything," she shook her head vigorously, "I need to help them." The Mage watched as her friends took on Chloe and her demon army in an uncomfortable silence. She had to do something; she had to escape.

Looking around her cage scattered with magic seals, Aisha wondered just how much they would hold against mana charging. From her time spent analyzing magic theory books, she knew a thing or two about magic seals: One) they could be compromised easily with enough power, two) certain types of seals were weaker to certain types of magic, and three) no amount of magic seal can hold a Mage in forever, especially not an Elemental Master. Aisha not only knew how to control the purest destructive elements, but had mastered them and all their properties.

"Okay," came her spoken thought, "let's start with what we already know, Aisha." Moving around her small cage, she counted the number of magic seals, "19 in all and the corners have cornerstone seals, which are hard to break, but if I can get one, the rest are useless." The seals appeared to be the same type, which left figuring out what their weak spot was.

The Elemental Master felt a little more confident as she assessed her situation and opened up her spell book, sitting in the middle of the cage. Aisha leafed through the back of her book, searching for anything that would help her. She knew she had written something about magic seals in a margin somewhere, but of what context?

"Wait a minute!" the girl suddenly shot to her feet, "I remember Lenphad telling us back in Elder that magic seals could be used for other things than to hold off magic."

Starting to pace, Aisha racked her brain for clues. "Magic seals are used on the best equipment for preservation as well as on the rarest magic objects for concealment. After all, the magic ring that absorbed all my power and magic had a terribly powerful seal on it too, and the minute it started taking my power, it bro—THAT'S IT!" A breathless smile formed on the girl's face, "So, if I use my best magic to overload a cornerstone seal and a few others, they'll most likely absorb the magic and burst!"

She flipped back to the front of her spell book, searching her numerous magic skills. Ever since she became an Elemental Master, there was one element that came easier than the rest, perhaps because she'd known it for so long. Fire had always been her specialty, just like the idiot swordsman she had taught the basics of fire magic too, and this time she needed its perfection more than ever.

However, Aisha hypothesized that while fire may overload the regular seals, it might not do much to the cornerstone seals. Those type of seals specialized in setting up and holding magical boundaries; Aisha had seen a few of these at the Mage's Sanctuary before she left, and had questioned them to the Head Master. The trick with cornerstone seals was that you had to hit all of them at once, and the magic boundary between them must be broken by a concentrated wave of mana or a high level spell, aka: hit all four, but concentrate on breaking one. This is why the magical boundary of the Sanctuary has yet to be broken: no one Mage could target and hit every single cornerstone seal at the same time.

But soon, the girl ran into a problem: Cornerstone seals had a habit of absorbing the spell if too much of one type of magic was used. They "got used to" that element and built up a tolerance.

"An ordinary Gust Storm would work except that its strictly fire magic, and even if I could summon a Lightning or Blizzard Shower, I don't know how much they'd damage the other seals, much less the cornerstones..." trailing off, Aisha plopped back down and picked up her staff, twirling it absentmindedly. "It would really help if I had a spell that used more than one element at a time; even before my powers were stolen I wasn't allowed to read those books because of my age."

The Sanctuary had restricted poly-element spells to only those who had decades of experience in using magic, and obviously that excluded Aisha. It was a logical excuse for not letting a kid become more powerful than the Elders, but Aisha's cousin had once stolen a book and the young Mage had snuck a few glances, but remembered nothing that would help her now.

It couldn't be that hard, could it? She figured that summoning more than one element would take as much mana as any spell but it would be the amount of destructive power that really impacted how much mana and strength was spent.

In theory, if she summoned the main elements-fire, ice, and wind, along with her new element lightning-in lesser increments, it would take all of her mana. As for destructive power, smaller amounts of one element meant more power could be asserted to each one in specific; therefore, a pretty powerful spell could be produced since each element uses a different kind of magic. So, if she wrote her own spell, it shouldn't be hard to summon elements in quick succession. It probably just took practice and skill, and Aisha definitely had skill.

But getting her mana charged in a restricting cage like this would be the first obstacle she'd have to face. With a heavy sigh, the purple haired girl sat down and crossed her legs. 

Folding her hands lightly across her lap she closed her eyes and relaxed, focusing on her mana.

She wished she had her friends' help, hell, she even wished Elsword was here. It was a stubborn wish, but that Rune Slayer's stupid grin always made her feel better, especially during the middle of a fight. But now there was no one coming for her, the closest people were stuck battling an army of demons, and Elsword didn't even dare show his face. It was up to her to escape, it was her turn to save herself.

Sucking in a deep breath, the Elemental Master prayed her compromised magic theory would work, that her mana would charge bit by bit, and that she could make it in time to stop Ran.

Elsword's POV

Warm sunlight filtered in through his window, and surprisingly enough, he wasn't woke by the lively chatter he was used to, but instead by a bitter silence.

As he sat up, the red haired boy stretched, his mouth opened wide in a yawn, and pushed away the lurking tendrils of sleep. By the light outside, he figured it was around 9, puzzled as to why no one bad bothered him yet to harp at him to go find his girlfriend and apologize. But then again, as he noticed the blanket that had been pulled over him and how her picture, which he knew fell asleep with, was sitting on his desk, Rena must have come in sometime after he'd fallen asleep.

As the town outside his window buzzed to life, Elsword looked around his room in a vaguely depressed air. There were so many reminders of his love and each one pressed on his heart with a new weight. His copy of Magic & Runes Galore: The Fire Edition that she'd given him when he expressed his interest in learning magic, the notes scattered about his desk of the skills he thought up-the skills Aisha's knowledge had brought to life, and now, her picture.

"Happy birthday, Els, you not only broke her heart, but yours as well," he murmured, running a hand through his messy, spiked red hair.

The swordsman trudged out of bed, still wearing his clothes from yesterday, but not bothering to change. He needed to talk to Rena and Raven, he needed to apologize for being such a jerk, and he needed to set things right with everyone, including his Aisha.

The townhouse was oddly silent, and when Elsword walked down the stairs expecting to find everyone glaring at him, he's heart sank to find another empty room. Spying a piece of paper on the table, the boy strode over to it, his worst fears about to be confirmed.

"Hey Els," it read in Rena's sloppy curves, "If you're reading this that means we're long gone. You probably didn't find what I left on your desk either, knowing you."  
Gone? His desk? What?

"We went to go get Aisha, Chloe said she was in the Halls of Water and Ran ways holding her there, waiting for us to come. Obviously, we know it's a trap, but Raven's taking a page out of your book and saying 'We couldn't care less' which is definitely true. Aisha's our dear friend and she's in trouble so we can't not do anything, right? I'm sure you understand. Oh, Raven wanted me to add that no one blames you for this little mishap, but you don't need to follow because we've got it taken care of, so don't worry! Watch the house for us, we'll be back soon! -Rena"

"Dammit!" Elsword crumpled the note into his fist, slamming it down on the table, the noise echoing in the empty house. Turning on his heel, he flew back to his room, his hair's red braids trailing behind him. Pacing back and forth in front of his bed he stopped as he processed Raven's words.

Disappointment. Utter disappointment, that's what the man had meant. A lazy glance at his own sword led to a dent in the bed as he kicked it in frustration.

"Damn it all to El!" once more came his anguished cry, ad he continued to beat at his bed until a tear slipped and fell down his cheek. His whole body shook in a mix of sadness, regret, and rage, and he gave in to the rain.

"I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't be here at all. What's a swordsman with no pride? What's the use in learning magic, learning anything, if I'm absolutely useless when it matters most!?" Enraged, he found himself reaching for something to throw, to take his anger out on.

A picture, a line of heartfelt words, and Elsword fell to his knees. Choking back a sob, the boy let the picture fall from his hands, he couldn't bear to look at it anymore. If he didn't deserve his sword, he definitely didn't deserve her. All of this was because of him and some stupid fight. Who knew what Ran would do to her, who knew if his friends could even get there in time.

Rubbing at his furious tears, something white caught his eye. There was a little envelope on his desk and he was jerked out of his despair by Rena's words echoing through his head. No matter how upset he was, curiosity always killed the cat, and the red-haired boy opened the envelope with sad eyes.

Not knowing what to expect, Elsword was surprised to find a long silver chain with a small decorated sword hanging from it. It was extremely similar to his sword, but instead of being fire-rune based, it showed the fire flower sigil he was all too familiar with.

The necklace's significance unknown, he looked for an explanation.

A small piece of folded paper had fallen to the floor when he pulled the necklace out. It was a page ripped out of a notebook, and in a familiar half-cursive scrawl were the words,  
"June 15: I finished the sigil/sword charms today. I wonder if he'll like it? Eve gave me the best idea to enchant it and keep a similar one so that they'll always be drawn to each other. Rena keeps teasing me and calling them 'love amulets' _ That red-haired jerk would probably never understand it but I suppose the cheesy romance is worth a shot."

Elsword stood up, a shadow falling across his eyes. Sliding the necklace over his head, he grabbed his sword and strode out the door, out of the house, heading in the direction of Hamel. He would find her, he would save her, and then he would punish whoever did this.

"No one touches my Aisha," and his growl dared anyone to try and test him, just to see what the consequences would be.


End file.
